Violent offender jailed after attacks in Sunderland caught on camera

Shameless Ethan McLoud, 24, is beginning a one-year jail term after being at the centre of two unprovoked incidents on January 29 this year.

The violence took place on Vine Place and in Mowbray Park between 6.45pm and 8.15pm, with McLoud randomly setting on his victims and verbally abusing them before fleeing on foot.

Justice quickly caught up with him, however, after a neighbourhood warden from Sunderland City Council who was on duty in the Vine Place area captured his antics on body-worn video.

Vine Place, Sunderland (Image: Google Maps)

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Then moments after the second disturbance in Mowbray Park, CCTV operatives working in their Washington-based control room raised the alarm and alerted neighbourhood police officers working in the city centre.

With an investigation launched by police, images of the prime suspect were circulated, and before long a PC on patrol in the city centre recognised McLoud as somebody who looked very familiar from captured footage.

He was subsequently arrested and later charged with affray and a public order offence.

McLoud, of no fixed abode, appeared before magistrates in South Tyneside on Thursday, February 9, where he pleaded guilty to both offences and was jailed for one year.

Mowbray Park, Sunderland (Image: Google Maps)

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Speaking after the result, Sergeant Maria Ord of Northumbria Police, said: “These incidents were shocking with both victims attacked in the city centre.

“As soon as we were made aware of these quick-fire incidents, our priority was to identify the attacker and we knew that a potentially dangerous offender needed to be stopped.

“It was a real team effort to pursue justice, with the city centre neighbourhood policing team spending a huge amount of time trawling CCTV footage alongside partners in a bid to track the suspect’s movements.

“Thankfully that hard work was worth it after an on-patrol officer who had been involved in the investigation saw the circulation and immediately recognised McLoud out in the community.

“I would like to thank everyone involved in this case. There is absolutely no place for violence in our communities and I am pleased that he is now behind bars.

“Together with our partners, we will continue to do all we can to tackle perpetrators like this and ensure our region remains as safe a place as it possibly can be to live, work and visit.”

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Leader of Sunderland City Council and chairman of the safer Sunderland partnership, Councillor Graeme Miller, said: “I am very pleased to hear about how the work of our Neighbourhood Enforcement Team has helped in identifying this man and the justice brought to him for these shocking incidents.

“This type of behaviour will not tolerated in our city and the background to it shows how we take action and how we work together.

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“We are continuing to work closely with Northumbria Police and our partners on keeping our city safe and dealing with those individuals who are acting in a criminal or anti-social manner.”

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Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Kim McGuinness, said: “These were horrific incidents for the victims, and I am so glad that a real community effort with quick thinking and quick action resulted in a violent offender being taken off the streets of Sunderland and put behind bars.

“I know people read about incidents like this and it impacts how safe they feel in public spaces, so I want to reassure people there is considerable work happening to keep our local communities safe.

“From installing a help point in Mowbray Park to upping city centre patrols, we’ve secured funding to invest in a range of ways to make improvements to fight and prevent crime and improve overall feelings of safety.”